NRL 2023: Kalyn Ponga’s father Andre opens up on awkward concussion conversation

Kalyn Ponga was days away from leaving for brain testing in Canada and his parents were there to help him confront the brutal truth, BRENT READ reveals what was said.

Knights captain Kalyn Ponga. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The toughest conversation of Kalyn Ponga’s career took place in the kitchen of his Merewether home earlier this year. On one seat was Ponga, the multimillion dollar megastar at the heart of the high-flying Newcastle Knights pursuit of a premiership.

On the others were his parents Andre and Adine. Ponga was days away from leaving for brain testing in Canada and his parents were there to help him confront the brutal truth. Maybe, this was it. Perhaps his career was over.

“I was the one who engaged that conversation,” Andre said.

“I am a realist ….. I understood the conversation of why we were going there. So I had that conversation before we went to Canada just so it could prepare him if that was the case.

“As brutal as it sounds, it is about preparing for whatever outcome it was going to be. We were going there not sure of the outcome.

“So we had to have that hard conversation about it might be a result you don’t want to hear. That was the mindset where we were at.

“Me, mum and him sat down at his place. He was really good about it. I wasn’t sure how he was going to act. You know how cruisy he is.

“Even that conversation was pretty cruisy. As parents we had to have that conversation with him. It was pretty daunting before going to Canada.

“When we have serious talks, he is 25 but he still gives us the respect to have those conversations. We are pretty lucky as parents.”

Knights captain Kalyn Ponga. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Andre and Adine Ponga revisited that conversation this week as they drove home from Kalyn’s house, having picked up his dog to make sure it was taken care of while their son was in New Zealand.

They knew Kalyn would be fine no matter what the outcome. They also wanted to prepare him anyway, asking him whether he had considered career alternatives. For the record, he hadn’t, but he knew he wanted to stay involved in sport.

Fortunately for all involved, that conversation and Kalyn’s future plans turned out to be moot. Kalyn returned from that trip with his mind at ease, took a couple of weeks to find his feet and then transformed the Knights into premiership contenders with a run of form that has been unworldly.

He has arguably been the form player in the NRL over the second half of the season.

“It was only a couple of hours into Canada and as a father, it was like what are we even here for…. just the confidence they gave us,” Andre said.

“It was this big relief. I am talking the first couple of hours. He did four days of testing – his testing results, they had to try to nitpick at him to find anything (negative).

“When he came back here everything was so negative. He had to find ways to battle the noise. Canada was a reality check.

“We were going there under the business assumption of retirement. It was something that had to happen in his career to realise it doesn’t matter what people say or what people do.”

Kalyn Ponga with his father Andre. Picture: Instagram

What does matter now above all else to Kalyn is winning a premiership with Newcastle. The Knights headed across the ditch on Thursday looking to keep their magical carpet ride going for another fortnight.

For Kalyn, it is relatively familiar turf. He spent five years of his teenage life in New Zealand, his family having returned to the land of Andre’s birth after the traumatic death of their son Kacey. It was a time of healing for the Pongas.

They returned to New Zealand this past off-season where Kalyn spent 15 days reconnecting with his roots. He then headed back to Newcastle to begin pre-season training more than a month ahead of schedule.

There was talk early in his career about the Kiwis and All Blacks, but Ponga played only a handful of rugby union games during his time in New Zealand. He was obsessed with golf and soccer.

Plus, of course, family, many of whom will be at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night. Ponga has 65 cousins and the vast majority of them will attend the final with divided loyalties.

“The family go, ‘we are in a win-win situation’.” Andre said.

“If the Warriors win, up the Wahs. If the Knights win, up the nephew and grandson.”

Kalyn Ponga will have plenty of support in the stands. Picture: NRL Imagery

The fact is, Kalyn has already won. When you consider where he was when he sat down with his parents in the kitchen on his beachside home, getting this far in the season borders on a miracle.

Ponga is far from content though. He wants to win a premiership with the Knights. He is growing impatient. He doesn’t have the time any more for distraction or change, particularly when it comes to coach Adam O’Brien.

They have a unique bond to the point where Ponga’s future is tied to O’Brien. The imminent decision to hand O’Brien a contract decision will put the family’s mind at ease.

“What we have learnt – our family motto is we always must take positives from negatives,” Andre said.

“He is playing for the staff. Kalyn has been here six years. All he is after is a premiership. It doesn’t help his career, it wouldn’t be a good move for Kalyn’s career, if we got another coach.”

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The NRL drew a line in the sand this week. Contract negotiations have been a longstanding joke in the game. Rules are broken regularly and the game has seemingly been powerless to do anything about it.

Then this week they dropped a bombshell on the Dolphins, slamming the club with a monster fine and putting Deine Mariner’s agent Dixon McIver on notice.

It was a stunning development and no-one was caught more off guard than the Dolphins. They are expected to fight the sanction in the belief that they have done nothing wrong.

Expect them to respond to the sanction and potentially appeal. It would be a surprise if they don’t put up an almighty fight.

They will also no doubt keep a close eye on developments in coming weeks and months as the transfer market heats up.

Consistency is a bugbear across clubland and the Dolphins will be watching closely to ensure they haven’t been singled out.

If they are, expect all hell to break loose.